Sunday, January 10, 2010

With my own failed attempt at a bushcraft paddle this past summer, I was inspired by this nearly century old bushcraft paddle on display at the Canadian Canoe Museum that has a bit of significant history. It was carved by George Douglas, who led an Arctic expedition in 1911 to search for minerals in the Coppermine River watershed. His book about the journey entitled, Lands forlorn : a story of an expedition to Hearne's Coppermine River, is noteworthy for its attention to detail and superb photographs. An online copy of the book is available at Archive.org. The paddle carved from knotted spruce is quite weathered but still looks functional. Curious to note an absence of any grip.

2 comments:

Not sure how he ended up finding it, but there's an interesting article about the journey in Che-Mun edition 132 (.pdf format) entitled "Lands Reborn" (pg. 6) talking about how the book is now in print again. The article has a has a photo of the remains of the cabin where Douglas wintered and other interesting pics if this story has wet your appetite.

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I'm an avid canoeist and general "outdoorsy type" guy with a bit of an artistic side. Recently started this hobby of making custom canoe paddles after my disappointing experience with most commercial brands. This site documents various styles of single blade canoe paddles I've made or researched as well as other canoe related info I've stumbled across on my internet wanderings. Hope you enjoy your visit.